


A New Life for Katie

by lillianfromaccounting



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crack, Crack Crossover, F/M, Spy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 16:55:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9558305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillianfromaccounting/pseuds/lillianfromaccounting
Summary: Katie Zook decided to take up the spy life with SHIELD and spends her 35th birthday on the job. (Written in second person/as a reader insert)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keysburg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysburg/gifts).



> This was a birthday fic for keysburg based on her story Jack Thompson is Dead http://archiveofourown.org/works/7947133

“Was this how you envisioned spending your thirty-fifth birthday?” Peggy asked.  
“Not in the very least,” you replied, walking down the marble steps of a mansion along her side.  
“This job--it hasn’t gotten to you yet, has it?” she pressed. “You have my word; the moment you want to return to Sante Fe, I will set you up on the first flight back.”  
“It hasn’t lost its charm yet; that’s for sure,” you said. “Besides, you finally let me lead my first case. I’m not going to crack now!”

Barely six months after Jack had returned to New York, a wildfire took out a large part of downtown, including Zook’s and much of its inventory. Your parents decided to take the insurance money and retire, selling the property to a real estate developer, essentially leaving you unemployed. You never thought you’d leave New Mexico, but when Agent Peggy Carter called you again for the umpteenth time, you decided to take a trip out to Los Angeles to see what this SHIELD business was all about firsthand.

Jack remained on the east coast, supposedly working with a new division Peggy liked to call ‘the cowboys’.

“This is a very high profile case,” Daniel said. “Washington has its eyes on it, now that movie stars David Booth and Spike Marsters are involved.” Those were the latest among the missing. There was a pattern over the two months. One day these strapping males would be seen by witnesses going about their lives and the next day, they would be gone--vanished--with a trace of cerulean blue dust. That was your only clue and it tied all the missing persons together.

\---  
Howard threw you a birthday party at the new lounge in North Hollywood, inviting everyone he knew, it seemed.

“Happy birthday, my darling,” he managed to give you a hug while two floozies hung onto him. “Have you met my friend, Barney?” Howard gestured towards his blond friend in the expensive suit.  
“Your birthday party is legen--”  
“Hold that thought, Barney,” Peggy interrupted. “We have a lead on the case. Meet me in the foyer in five minutes.” You nodded.  
“--dary!” Barney continued.  
“Thank you,” you said graciously, accepting Barney’s hug as two other women managed to hang onto him. “I hope you enjoy the night.”

You made your way out to the foyer where Peggy and Daniel sat across from someone you had never met before. His rose-colored glasses at this hour and cane suggested that he might be visually impaired.

“I’m sorry to have interrupted your birthday party,” he said.  
“It’s alright. This is important.” Part of you wondered if you hadn’t bought too much into this lifestyle already. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name, Mr.?”  
“Murdock. Matthew Murdock.” He extended a hand out and you shook it.  
“How can we help you, Mr. Murdock?”  
“My friend Luke Cage has gone missing and I think it might be related to these missing persons cases I keep hearing about on the news. I think this is all connected to my boxing gym.”  
Matt's statement was greeted with silence.  
"I know it might seem odd but keeping fit helps to maintain my other senses," Matt said. "My dad was a boxer; it's in the genes."  
Based on the cut above his eye, you weren't convinced that the boxing was helping his health.  
"Have you tried the police?" Daniel asked.  
"Yes. They have been no help. I have reason to believe they are in the pockets of the gym owners, the Asgard brothers."

You've heard of the Asgard brothers. They came to town shortly after you had moved to LA and they immediately made headlines. They became big players in the real estate industry, buying up buildings left and right.  
"I also sense that there might be something more," Matt said. "It used to be all neighborhood guys at the gym, retired boxers and teenagers who wanted to learn the ropes. Lately, I've been seeing more and more fresh faces. Guys who don't seem to fit in. And the ones I used to be friendly with--they seem different."  
"Mr. Murdock, we're going to need more than a hunch," Peggy said.  
"Here," Matt pulled some faded photographs from his pocket. "These might explain it some more. Those are before and after shots of some of the guys. The blonde, Mace, went from the size of my walking stick to being able to knock punching bags off the hook. This other guy Beck, we call him the Romanian, seemed to have gained super strength overnight."  
"I've seen these two before," Peggy said. "We questioned them last month for the missing persons case out in Sausalito."

You remembered it well. That was the first time you had encountered an 084 in person.  
"The case is still active," you said. "Was there anything else that was strange or bothered you about your friend Luke's disappearance?"  
Matt adjusted his rose-colored glasses. "There was a trace of blue powder near his locker at the gym. I didn't get a sample, but I overheard the janitor complaining about how hard it was to scrub clean.

You and Peggy exchanged glances; the cerulean powder had never been disclosed in the media. Either this guy was telling the truth or he was involved in the crimes.  
"We're going to need an in," Daniel said.  
"The gym's receptionist just retired," Matt said.

\---  
A week after Matt had approached SHIELD, you interviewed for the receptionist job at Asgard Gym. The owners, Loki and Thor, seemed pleasant enough, but something just didn't feel right with them. You could tell they were hiding something. Maybe the gym was just a front.  
A couple more weeks went by and you got to know all the regulars. Mace and Beck had a very regimented schedule. Neither of them ever chatted you up, only coming in for their workouts and leaving shortly after. Sometimes, the Asgard brothers would stop in for some matches.  
Matt took you out to lunch once a week to compare notes. You learned that he was a lawyer and that his practice was around the corner. 

“Thank you,” Matt said, holding your forearm. Your weekly lunch had come to an end with him walking you back to the gym. “This means a lot. I think we’re making progress.”  
“You’re welcome. I’m just doing my job,” you said. Matt was a very sweet guy, and under different circumstances, you would have asked him back to your place by now. You knew better now than to get involved with someone on a case; the whole business with Jack back in Santa Fe was harrowing enough. “I should get back inside.”  
“Yes,” Matt said, letting go of your arm. “I will talk to you tomorrow.”

Back inside the gym, you resumed your position at the front desk. A stack of paperwork had appeared while you were gone.  
“Hello, sugar!” Adrian, one of the newer members of the gym skipped by. He had been putting in a lot of hours the past week. His mantra was ‘no pain, no gain’ and he lived by it.  
“Adrian!” you greeted. “Somebody is in a good mood!”  
“I’m not supposed to tell anyone,” he whispered, “but I got invited to the fight club.”  
“Fight club?” you had heard about a fight club in the gym, but no one ever divulged any information. “Sounds exciting,” you whispered.  
“Mace and Beck invited me back here tonight at midnight,” Adrian whispered loudly. “I’ve been training for this moment! I think--no, I know I’m ready!”  
“Well, good luck!” you smiled. When Adrian walked away, you phoned Matt, Peggy, and Daniel and arranged for a sting.

\--  
You tried to talk Matt out of showing up, but he insisted that he would be of use. Daniel parked the surveillance van on the side street, allowing you access to both the front and back entrances of the gym. The four of you cramped inside the van, hoping this was not for naught.

A few minutes before midnight, Adrian showed up and waited by the front entrance. Shortly after, Mace and Beck arrived. Instead of going inside the gym, they all piled into a blue Volkswagen Beetle and drove quietly away. You and Matt took a car and followed while the van followed separately. The car stopped at the Observatory. You thanked your lucky stars that lookout point was right by there and it wasn’t unusual for cars to pull up there at night. As a matter of fact, you observed three other cars already there, two of which had busy couples in them.

The three men went into the side entrance of the Observatory. You left Peggy and Daniel a coded note on your windshield and then followed with Matt into the building.

It was easy to track them once inside. Loki was not shy about making his presence known. You and Matt found them on the stage of the main hall. In the middle of the floor, a bright blue hole had opened up. Standing around it were about a dozen men, all very muscular and all seem to be in a strange trance, staring into nothing.

Loki was holding a scepter that seemed to be controlling the bright blue light. “Tonight, you will show your loyalty to Asgard and reap your rewards! Once you go through the portal, the nornfrost will amplify your powers and you will be part of my army! Together, we will take over the universe!” his maniacal laughter sent a chill down your spine.

Mace took the first plunge into the abyss, followed by Beck. One by one, the men followed. The last among them was Matt’s friend Luke, whom you recognized from pictures.

“It’s Luke,” you whispered. “We need a diversion.” You turned and Matt was gone. Looking around the room, he had already made it down to the stage. Thor tried to run interference, but Matt was too fast for him, causing the oaf to fall into the abyss.

Loki tried to zap Matt with the scepter a few times, each time narrowly missing. Suddenly, it seemed like there dozens of Lokis in the Observatory. You rubbed your eyes but they seemed to have multiplied even more. Your head was spinning, trying to figure out which one was the real Loki when out of nowhere, Matt kicked Loki and his scepter into the abyss, closing the portal with a pop. Luke had fallen out of the trance and was befuddled by surroundings.

Peggy and Daniel showed up just as the three of you were exiting the Observatory.  
“Matt, how did you know?” you asked.  
“Know what?”  
“Which Loki was the real one?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I saw--lots of him--so many,” you clarified. “It must have been some kind of magic trick or an optical illusion.”  
“Well joke’s on him. I can’t see. I just felt around and found him.” Matt smiled.  
Part of you wanted to believe that was the truth, so you let it go.  
“Thank you again, for helping me find my friend,” Matt said. He opened his arms for a hug, which you graciously accepted.  
“Yes, thank you,” Luke said, shaking your hand.  
Some other SHIELD agents were outside, taking witness accounts. Daniel insisted you get cleared by a doctor before going back into the office. You complied; despite being happy that you’ve solved the case and saved a life, you dreaded the pile of paperwork that this case had become.

\--  
You walked up to a bench next to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where three men loitered.  
“Hey doll,” Jack leaned in and gave your cheek a peck. “I heard you were causing some trouble out west.”  
“Oh you know me, John,” you still called him by the name that he used when you had first met. You knew it bugged him, which made it more the reason to do so. “Just doing my job.”  
“You give Carter a run for her money,” he said. “Do you think you’re ready for the big league?”  
“If you didn’t think I was ready, you wouldn’t have requested I come out to Washington D.C.” you said.  
He nodded, trying to fight back a smug smile. “Welcome to the CIA. These two men will be your partners, so to speak. We use more of a trio system in this division.” The two men were a little bit taller than Jack and both handsome in their own ways. One was polished; his pressed suit and slicked back hair told you that he was very meticulous and detail-oriented. The other was more rugged and the glimmer in his eye told you he was the fun kind of trouble.  
“Meet Napoleon Solo and Josh Faraday,” Jack said.  
“Ma’am,” Josh took his ten-gallon hat off and bowed.  
“Please to meet your acquaintance,” Napoleon took your left hand and kissed the back of it.  
“I hope this working arrangement will work out,” Jack said.  
Cherry blossom petals blew past as you took in your new team.  
“I think this arrangement will be just fine.” You smiled.


End file.
